A Little Boy's Grave Has A Window

[left-of-center2012]

In December 1865, an 8-year-old boy named Merrit Beardsley died from a fever. His family lived next to a cemetery in Oxford, New York, where his father, William, worked as both a farmer and a stonemason.

Like most little kids, Merrit was terribly afraid of the dark — so much so that before he died, he asked his father not to bury him in the ground so he wouldn't have to eternally rest in the dark.

Article and photos here:

https://tinyurl.com/y8fhdxyl

[CatMor]

1. What a wonderful story ....

there are many good people in the world.

[Laf.La.Dem.]

2. + + Thank you for posting!!

Loved the story

[left-of-center2012]

3. But I wonder

Is he enclosed inside a coffin?

[More_Cowbell]

4. He wasn't in a coffin

According to this story, when the window was broken, people could reach in and take his bones (they've been found and replaced)

https://www.newyorkupstate.com/road-trips/2018/03/the_most_unusual_grave_in_upstate_ny_has_tiny_window_to_honor_boys_final_wish.html

[lisby]

8. It probably was in a coffin

but the wood had deteriorated.

[Chemisse]

5. It does leave a lot of questions.

I wonder if it was legal back then to just put the body in the tomb, rather than in a coffin first. If so, does that mean people can see the skeleton if they peer into it? That would be pretty creepy.

Anyway, it is a nice story.

[tavernier]

6. You know what's creepy?

Peering at Rump’s bones withe putrid orange skin stretched over them. Now THAT should be illegal!

[erronis]

7. Many jurisdictions in the US don't require coffins (or funeral homes, caskets, etc.)

Of course the death industry would want us to believe otherwise.

Just like the AMA says that only it should be the arbiter of it's own members. Sorry, I'm getting carried away by the rampant hypocrisy and greed of all professional organizations.

[lisby]

9. Yes, but...

We're talking about the 1860s.

[erronis]

10. Like the wild west, the prairies, mountains and hollows?

I doubt that most people were buried in cemeteries except when the decedents were notable enough.

I've wandered some of the Appalachian hills and found many instances of one or two graves, sometimes with headstones. Since we're talking about the period of the US Civil War, there were thousands of interred remains with no markers, let alone coffins and caskets.

In my particular case, I'd like the worms and other living animals to take care of my remains. To hell with the death profiteers.

<grins> (I can't remember how to inject emoji into this decrepit web 1.5 platform.

[Omaha Steve]

11. K&R!

Great post.

[smirkymonkey]

12. Lovely story.

Thanks for posting!